Hurricane prep

[crazynip]

Originally Posted by Robyn55

Perhaps you are geographically impaired - but I don't recall Charley - Frances or Jeanne hitting the Panhandle in 2004:

Follow the paths: 2004 -- the year we were pounded by hurricanes - OrlandoSentinel.com

Robyn

I live in Tampa, I know about 2004. My house would have gotten destroyed if Charley actually hit where it was supposed to. Jeanne and Frances came right over my house but they were tropical storms by the time they made it over here. We have not even had one close call since then.

That said, you need to educate yourself on the numbers of hurricanes that actually hit the state, VERY FEW. NONE have hit Tampa since the 1920's. Jacksonville is in the same boat.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT HURRICANES HERE.

You are more likely to be robbed, beaten, raped or murdered than you are of being hit by a hurricane.

[Robyn55]

I think if you look at this website (it's interactive) - you'll see that tons of hurricanes have made landfall in Florida:

Historical Hurricane Tracks

One thing people tend to forget is that - usually - the more intense a storm is in terms of wind - the smaller it is. Kind of like when a figure skater goes into a very fast spin with his/her arms tight against the body. Hurricane Andrew destroyed a lot of southern Dade County - but people in North Miami were pretty much operating at a 100% normal level 24 hours after the storm left.

Also - a weak storm that carries a lot of rain can be as dangerous as a storm with strong winds - because of flooding. We had some friends in Gainesville who were flooded out of their house as a result of one of those tropical storms in the mid-2000's that dumped a ton of rain.

Anyway - I don't spend my life worrying about hurricanes/tropical storms. I'm just prepared for the possibility that I might be affected by one again in the future.

And a couple of things Madcap didn't mention that may or may not be relevant to the OP's situation.

If you buy or build a house - make sure it is built to a decent building code. When we built our house here at the Beaches in 1995 - wind code requirement was only 95 mph . We built to the Dade County code then in effect (125 mph - which would be a somewhat strong cat 3 storm). Also pay attention to where you're located in terms of possible flooding - and make sure the house is built to a proper elevation. I think one thing we learned from Andrew is that good construction can make a big difference when it comes to cat 1-3 storms. And even tropical storms. We saw new construction here (including a school) suffer damage during a couple of strong tropical storms in the mid-2000's (both from wind and flooding). That shouldn't happen. Cat 4-5 - all bets are off (unless you live in a house built like a concrete bunker).

If you're looking at multi-family units - and you can't climb the steps to where you live - make sure the place has a decent emergency generator to operate at least one elevator. And that the generator isn't water-cooled (we found that one out the hard way - we lived on the 11th floor of a high-rise building during Andrew - the building had a generator that was water-cooled - when we lost our water - we lost our generator too).

If you can where you live - get a propane gas BBQ (if you don't already have one). And keep an extra full tank of gas around. And some cookware you can use on it. We also have one of those portable burners that runs on gas canisters - like chefs use in cooking demos. Keep paper goods/plastic utensils on hand.

Being Jewish - I always have some Yahrzeit (Memorial) candles around. They are designed to burn safely for 24 hours. You can pick them up in Publix in the ethnic food section.

Make sure you have the proper insurance for the risks in the area where you live - and make sure you understand your policy(ies). Your regular homeowners' coverage will cover windstorm damage - but may have a relatively high windstorm deductible. It will not cover flood damage. Primary flood coverage is only available through the federal flood insurance program - and must be purchased separately. Maximum coverage for a dwelling is $250k. One can buy excess flood insurance in the private market - but it is really expensive. I don't think there are too many policies around these days that will pay for a hotel/rental if you have to relocate temporarily. If you can find one that does - and makes sense in terms of other coverage - buy it (we spent a month living in a Residence Inn while our condo was uninhabitable - and our insurance policy paid for it). Keep some money on hand to pay for deductibles - or any assessments from a condo or HO association due to losses not covered by insurance - like replacement of lost landscaping (also - buy loss assessment coverage if you live in a condo or HO association for assessments that might be covered).

BTW - although I agree with Mapcap about tree trimming - the winter - not 3 days before a storm in August - is the best time to do it (when trees are dormant).

Finally - always try to stay at least 24 hours ahead of a frightened mob. There are excellent hurricane websites. I particularly like this one:

Tropical Weather : Weather Underground

I take a quick look every couple of days during hurricane season. And if I see any possible cause for alarm - I get any supplies I might need - and make an evacuation reservation at a place that allows me to cancel by 4:00 pm date of arrival.

FWIW - I think there's a big difference in terms of the ways people approach or think about hurricanes - depending on whether or not they've ever been through a big one. I know that the first time we got back to our place in Miami after Hurricane Andrew - I cried when I saw what had happened. We weren't even back to normal by the time we moved here 3 years after Andrew. Robyn

[crazynip]

Fact: no cat 5 hurricane has ever hit Florida. Dont say Andrew, it was Cat3. They changed it after the fact because NOAA is run by hippies and bowed to political pressure.

I went to that site listed above and most of the hurricanes they showed the ratings were way off. They said Jeanne was a cat 4, it was a 2 when it actually hit florida.

[Rabflmom]

Originally Posted by Caladium

One other little tip if you think you might lose power in a storm (or for any reason). Fill containers with water and put in freezer before the storm so they have time to turn into big chunks of ice. Then, if you lose power, you will have big chunks of ice in your freezer to keep things cold.

But don't put bags of ice in your freezer or refrigerator to try to keep things cold. The ice melts and the water drips out of the bags into the drip pan of the refrigerator and then overflows. We thought we were doing a good thing in 2004 and it ended up running down the walls in the condo below us. What a mess. LOL

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by crazynip

Fact: no cat 5 hurricane has ever hit Florida. Dont say Andrew, it was Cat3. They changed it after the fact because NOAA is run by hippies and bowed to political pressure.

I went to that site listed above and most of the hurricanes they showed the ratings were way off. They said Jeanne was a cat 4, it was a 2 when it actually hit florida.

Actually - of the 3 cat 5 storms that have made landfall in the US - 2 were in Florida. A hurricane in the Keys in 1935 - and Andrew. And please don't tell me Andrew was a cat 3. It was a cat 3 where I happened to live at the time - about 10-15 miles north of the eye wall of the storm. I know there has been some discussion about whether it was a strong cat 4 - or a cat 5 (all the devices that measured wind speed blew away). But that's kind of a distinction without a difference for the 10s of thousands of people in south Dade County who had their homes destroyed. At the time - it was said that there wasn't a single building south of downtown Miami that wasn't damaged or destroyed by Andrew. Having driven through the affected area dozens of times - I have to agree with that assessment.

NOAA run by hippies - that's a good one. What are you smoking ? Robyn

[osgoor]

Thanks you all for the wealth of feedback on my question. I am impressed and grateful that so many of you took the time to include such detail in your posts.

[run4rain]

Originally Posted by crazynip

Fact: no cat 5 hurricane has ever hit Florida. Dont say Andrew, it was Cat3. They changed it after the fact because NOAA is run by hippies and bowed to political pressure.

I went to that site listed above and most of the hurricanes they showed the ratings were way off. They said Jeanne was a cat 4, it was a 2 when it actually hit florida.

It's nice to think in facts and data, but you might want to consider the people that actually have their homes destroyed and people who lose their lives in these storms. I seriously doubt you were harmed by a mislabeling of what category a hurricane was, so I fail to see why it calls for defensiveness and insults.

[run4rain]

Originally Posted by Robyn55

Actually - of the 3 cat 5 storms that have made landfall in the US - 2 were in Florida. A hurricane in the Keys in 1935 - and Andrew. And please don't tell me Andrew was a cat 3. It was a cat 3 where I happened to live at the time - about 10-15 miles north of the eye wall of the storm. I know there has been some discussion about whether it was a strong cat 4 - or a cat 5 (all the devices that measured wind speed blew away). But that's kind of a distinction without a difference for the 10s of thousands of people in south Dade County who had their homes destroyed. At the time - it was said that there wasn't a single building south of downtown Miami that wasn't damaged or destroyed by Andrew. Having driven through the affected area dozens of times - I have to agree with that assessment.

NOAA run by hippies - that's a good one. What are you smoking ? Robyn

My family helped clean up Andrew's mess and pass out meals and bottled water. There are several rolls of pictures of the devasation and I can say that looked like strong cat 4/cat 5 devastation. Homes wiped from the foundation, lots of total wreckage. Again, I bet the people that lived through it who lost everything don't argue about what category it was. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter.

[run4rain]

And I agree with Robyn about NOAA. I worked with them, the NWS and the NPC in college. I've never heard of them considered as hippies.